There are blatant constitutional issues with a course in the Bible, but I actually think a class in “Comparative World Religions” would be useful to students’ understanding of many contemporary world problems.

Students may be taught about religion, but public schools may not teach religion. As the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly said, "[i]t might well be said that one's education is not complete without a study of comparative religion, or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization." (Joint Statement of the ACLU and other groups)

If all of us had a better understanding of Islam, for example, we might have less prejudice, less violence, and a better chance of achieving a semblance of normalcy in the mid-East.

February 03, 2018

In the wake of WV teachers’ growing discontent with low pay raises and increasing insurance costs, GOP legislative leaders all week have been claiming they’re getting the message.

House Speaker Tim Armstead: “If they’re doing that to try and send a message–we already have the message,” Armstead said. “That’s not a necessary thing to do. We already understand their concerns. (WVMetronews.com)

Senate President Mitch Carmichael offered similar platitudes to Hoppy Kercheval on Statewide Talkline this week.

But after “getting the message”, Carmichael and Armstead seem willing to ignore it in order to once again placate the big business suppliers of their campaign cash.

Senate President Mitch Carmichael said while lawmakers understand the proposed 1 percent yearly raise for public education employees is not enough, it is the best the Legislature can do at this time. (WVMetronews.com)

There seems to be money for favored GOP ideas, however.

Carmichael says a tax cut for industrial warehousing is more important because it will improve the state’s economy in the long run

Again they play the canard of trickle down.

The GOP is aggressively pushing for creation of an Intermediate Court of Appeals, which some estimates put at $140 million or more (there is no formal fiscal note on the idea yet).

The Governor wants $60 Million more into Tourism and Commerce.

But GOP leadership says we don’t have the money for raises, we can’t upset our delicate finances.

Carmichael: “The worst thing we can do is just emerge from this nighttime of darkness in terms of our economic condition and then just spend like drunken sailors,” he said. (WVMetronews.com)

A Democrat proposal to increase the pay raise beyond 1% was voted down on party lines in the Senate.

Again they ask “patience”. “We’ll get around to you...eventually”.

But teachers and other state employees have not just discovered their grievances this year. They have been lobbying for years on behalf of better pay, protection from unreasonable PEIA increases and a general appreciation of they work they do.

This is more than an issue of keeping teachers happy. It’s not just providing better pay for hard working and underpaid individuals.

It’s about making our state competitive in education, attracting new and well-qualified teachers, and keeping the good ones we have.

January 07, 2018

Kendra Fershee came out swinging this week after AG Jeff Sessions rescinded an Obama-era guideline for federal prosecutors to essentially leave marijuana prosecutions alone in states where its use is now legal.

Kendra Fershee, a law professor running in West Virginia's 1st district, a region Trump won by 49 points, recently put out an adarguing that medical marijuana could help end the opioid crisis and bring revenue to the state. Fershee tells me that she intends to "fight for the federal government to get out of the way" of the citizens of West Virginia. (West Virginia became the 29th state to legalize medical marijuana last year). (NBCNews.com)

Fershee is a WVU law professor and working mom. She's eyeing the Democratic nomination for the congressional seat currently held by Republican Dave McKinley (former Orrick CEO Ralph Baxter also on the dem primary ticket). She was a guest this week on The Watchdog Morning Show.

Among the headlines from our talk:

"The number one issue in WV" is the opioid epidemic. She calls it a "crisis, an emergency, a tsunami" and thinks it needs to be attacked by both dealing with the immediate issue of those addicted now and also looking at root causes of the addiction to begin with. She's a strong proponent of legalizing medical marijuana at the federal level.

She says "freedom" is a concept that has been co-opted by conservatives to mean "I got my stuff, leave me alone", while she believes in a democratic republic "you can't live free in a free country without a team effort".

She would not have voted for the recent tax reform bill saying it was too weighted to benefit the top income tiers and not average West Virginians.

She supports universal health care.

Fresh calls herself a "progressive democrat with the emphasis on progress" and thinks that as a woman and a mother she can bring a different perspective to the job than we have had in the past.

But Fershee will be battling the big stumbling block for all newcomers to politics: money. Admitting she doesn't have support from organized groups, she's working a grassroots campaign--asking for contributions one person at a time. With McKinley able to tap into huge cash from the GOP and supportive 3rd parties, this is the issue Fershee needs to find a way around.

January 03, 2018

Statewide Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval is known for his calm demeanor, fair interviews, and meticulous attention to research.

But he's also known by friends as a man who likes to travel .

On a recent Watchdog Morning Show, Hoppy shared some of his world travels with our audience--from running with the bulls in Pamplona to helping put out a fire in Ireland. Take a few minutes and listen to a different side of Hop than you get weekdays 10-Noon.

January 02, 2018

It was a weird year in WV politics and government. To bring it close to the end, the "genetically superior" cows our former Ag Commissioner bought from Oklahoma for breeding ended up having some difficulty....breeding.

Placed in proximity of a bull over the summer, two of the cows became pregnant. The two others did notAmy Summers

“It just kind of shows why it’s a little risky for the state to get into this,” said state Delegate Amy Summers, who had been a critic of the cow purchase all along.

“They’re breeding cows and they’re not yet breeding so that’s obviously an issue,” said Crescent Gallagher, spokesman for the state Agriculture Department.

(WVMetronews.com)

The cows get another crack at the bull before officials decide if they're just not good breeders after all.

In which case they became ribeyes for inmates in state correctional facilities.

Metronews state correspondent Brad McElhinny and I recently grazed around a discussion on all this.

The race for congress in Wet Virginia's 1st Congressional District should be more interesting this year than it has been for the past several elections. Since Alan Mollohan was ousted in his 2010 primary and Wheeling engineer/businessman Dave McKinley, a Republican, won the seat that fall, Democrats have been hard put to mount a serious challenge.

But in 2017, the former CEO of the Orrick law firm, announced his bid for the seat. Baxter brings strong experience, not just as a prominent lawyer, but also as a visionary business leader. When Baxter centralized much of the "back office" work of his world-wide legal firm into the Global Operations Center in Wheeling, it was an untried concept, but since the success of the GOC, many firms have begun looking at similar practices.

In recent interviews on The Watchdog Morning Show, I have found Baxter to be progressive and articulate. He knows what needs to be done on Capitol Hill to benefit the working class in WV, is able to put Democratic principles into an understandable framework, and has a firm focus on achieving those goals.

Acknowledging that he is "one of life's success stories", Baxter admits he has wealth. But he says the recently-passed tax bill is not good for the middle class and benefits the rich much more. In fact, he says the bill is "larceny". He suggests that most of us don't even have a good understanding of how "rich", the rich really are.

On the issue of fund raising, Baxter says that too any politicians have their hands out for campaign cash and are willing to work for their donors harder than they are for the voters. Baxter says when he talks with potential contributors, he makes it clear he "offers nothing in return other than good government".

Baxter calls the opioid epidemic in WV and the country "the crisis of our time". Noting it requires multi-faceted solutions--from jobs and education to more addiction treatment and treatment follow-up, Baxter says this crisis is not getting all the resources it needs. He says states can't handle it alone, it is a federal challenge. And he says "the answer can not be that we see it as beyond our reach; we have to be up to the task".

Sabato's Crystal Ball House predictions calls the WV-1 a "safe Republican" seat, but I think as Baxter becomes better known, and as some of WV's Trump supporters begin to realize they have been conned, the democrat may make some strong inroads.

January 01, 2018

In the midst of hot political talk, rants over sexual outrage or the latest lunacy from Trump's White House, we try to take time on the WATCHDOG MORNING SHOW to reflect back on what always seem like better times--the days of our childhood.

Wheeling attorney and occasional Morning Show guest Gerry Jakovetty, "The Counsellor", joined me recently to reminisce about growing up on Wheeling Island. Some of our listeners had other memories of their own neighborhoods, too.

What memories do you have of the days of your "yoot" in our great Grand Valley? Post your memories on my Facebook page link to this podcast.

Another concern is whether some tenants, upset with landlords for one reason or another, would file frivolous complaints. (Intelligencer editorial 8/26/17)

These are red herrings to misdirect us from the issue of protecting basic safety of citizens.

I've seen no suggestion, indication, or inclination to force all rentals to meet "Woodsdale" standards. There's no talk of gentrification, only of making sure roofs are not leaking and smoke detectors are installed.

Who would oppose that?

And why would such basic requirements raise anyone's rent?

While Hagan made her case on behalf of tenants, Coogan said many of those tenants may end up homeless if the city proceeds with the program because he said it will force landlords to increase rent. (Intelligencer 8/23/17)

If a landlord isn't already protecting his tenants, what kind of landlord is he?

A bad one.

A "slumlord".

Good landlords already provide the basic protections and should welcome any program that forces less-than-scrupulous ones to do the same.

Wheeling Council should finalize their plan, listen to any reasonable suggestions for modifications and then put the new regulations in place.

August 21, 2017

For much of a day, the D or the R didn't make any difference. Americans put on goofy glasses, looked to the Sky, listened to scientists and felt giddily connected. Laughing, awestruck, inspired, uplifted.

A reminder--if we choose to see it--that there is so much greater than us in this world. That our daily squabbles are minor matters in a major universe.

Celestial bodies roll through the far skies in stately and predictable fashion with no regard for Confederate statues or the man in the Oval.

We will return tonight to our normal routines, our differences will push to the fore and dark skies in the daytime will flicker from our minds.

But maybe, just maybe, we can keep a little light alive...a corona if you will..that reminds us the Universe is vast and mysterious but can unify us in our wonder of it.

May 25, 2017

As WV wrestles with its budget crisis, can we learn from other states efforts?

Meg Wiehe from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy was with us on The Watchdog Morning Show and says "yes", we can.

For one thing, plans to reduce taxes without careful planning, often don't work. Going back at least to the Gubernatorial Administration of Joe Manchin, WV has been diligently decreasing taxes with the belief it will increase revenue at some point. Wiehe points out that hasn't worked elsewhere and in states like Kansas, they're now trying to roll back the cuts.

Just last week, Kansas’s Senate narrowly rejected a bill that would have brought back a third income tax bracket, raised individual income tax rates and discontinued a 2012 tax cut for business owners.

“I think Kansas is the most important state to consider in this context,” Wiehe said. “The revenue gap that’s been caused by those tax cuts never materialized with the promised economic growth. They need to find about a billion dollars in revenue.” (wvmetronews.com)

In the Last Frontier, there have been no income taxes for decades, but with a looming $3 Billion dollar deficit, they're considering bringing it back.

Alaska legislators have been debating whether to reinstate the income tax. The Democratic majority in that state’s House sees the income tax as a way to deal with a deficit of around $3 billion.The Republican majority in the Senate prefers cuts to education and higher education and the use of reserves.

West Virginia is a state seeing a natural gas boom, but lawmakers are reticent to raise severance taxes on the industry. In Oklahoma, they have a different attitude.

Oklahoma lawmakers have gotten to the point where they’re seriously considering raising the tax rate on oil and gas production. Oklahoma is facing a budget shortfall of about $900 million — its third consecutive shortfall — as the state comes down the home stretch of its legislative session.

Oklahoma had economic triggers for tax cuts built into state law, but the Republican-led Legislature approved a bill last month repealing what would have been the next automatic cut and keeping the top rate at 5 percent.

The last triggered tax cut in Oklahoma took place in 2016, prompted by a prediction that state revenue would grow sufficiently. Instead, the price of oil declined, causing a plunge in state revenue.

“So this is kind of another good warning on these triggers,” Wiehe said.

Mixing a yearly budget plan with a structural tax change may be possible to do at the same time, but it requires serious thought, planning, and most importantly an accurate analysis of the impact of such changes.

That's something this legislature is not quick to do.

The Republicans in West Virginia’s Senate are embracing personal income tax reductions with faith that doing so will lead to increased economic activity.

“I’ve never seen a personal income tax cut pay for itself,” Behlke from National Conference of State Legislators said. “I’ve never seen a tax cut make people say ‘We dropped it 10 points but so much activity was created we got it back.'”

So WV can learn from our own mistakes and those of others.

Or we can base a budget on hopes and cliches that have been proven failures.